kintsukuroi
by tetsuryu
Summary: Between the smiles and laughter and the courage to risk their lives for their friends, they had to acknowledge that they've both been shattered once. Miraxus Week Anniversary Prompt: Gold.


Here's the first prompt of Miraxus week, the anniversary theme "Gold"! Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer: **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

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><p><strong><em>kintsukuroi<em>**_ (n).to repair with gold._

He'd always believed that he was a sinner, that the threat he had brought about to the only place he could call home was unforgivable, irreversible, and inexcusable. He understood that his rough childhood was no excuse for his behaviour, and despite the fact that he'd been a selfish and menacing pain to the guild, he was always treated with the utmost kindness and patience.

_"Welcome back, Laxus!"_

He used to see the world in a dull greyscale, with his heart tainted black and his adolescence painted with betrayal and hatred.

_"Weak, useless child!"_

He remembered the first time he was ever scared of magic – when his father grew restless of his frequent illnesses and cut him with all those paper dolls. _Hundreds, thousands, millions- _but Laxus supposed he couldn't blame his father.

_"I'm sorry sir, but there were complications with the childbirth. We managed to save your child, but we did everything we could for your wife." _

It was Laxus, after all, that had caused the death of his mother, the only woman whom his father had ever been capable of loving. He grew up attempting to please his father, being extra mindful of his actions and treating the man as his role model. He did everything he possibly could with those small hands, trying to piece together a fragmented world that only seemed to shatter into more pieces by the second.

_"This is it!"_

He never forgot the first time his father looked at him with glee shining in his coal eyes, presenting a bright orb that gleamed in a brilliant gold.

_"This will change your life, my son!"_

When the sharp, torturous_ -pain, make it sto-_ finally subsided, Laxus opened his youthful eyes and gasped at the electricity dancing around him in playful jolts, creating a sense of identity and a newfound strength that surged in him.

_"I can finally make Dad proud!"_

The dream of seeing his father's approving smile was chased away that one day, however, when his grandfather – the kind, jovial, loving, Master of Fairy Tail – excommunicated his own flesh and blood for an apparent threat he posed to the guild.

_"HOW COULD YOU?! HE'S FAMILY!"_

As the remnants of his father's existence disappeared from the guild halls and he was the only member of Makarov's family left around, he became known as the Master's grandson instead of just another Dreyar, and it was from there that the seed of hatred planted when his father left began to germinate.

_"I'll show them… I'll show them that I'm not that old man's shadow! I'll show them all!"_

In the lull of his quest to become the strongest mage, he was notified of the death of one of _Makarov's_ _children_, as the guild had so fondly described the young recruits to be. He knew them, remembered the ridiculous white hair that was a signature trait of the Strauss family. There was no way he could not, especially not when the eldest of the siblings had easily accelerated into an S-Class mage like himself despite being years younger.

_"I… I couldn't do anything… Lisanna…"_

Despite not being strongly acquainted with her, even Laxus could find it in his black heart to pity The Demon when her sister died. He supposed it was some sort of empathy that he felt for the girl. He understood what it was like to lose his family, and he understood how it felt to be powerless.

_"Oye Mira, get me a beer-"_

Something nagged painfully at him the day Mirajane Strauss' personality took a dramatic change. He knew that she was broken, that was a fact, but he couldn't understand her approach to pain. While he had decided to build himself up so that he would never be underestimated again, she had given up all her potential to be the best female mage and reduced herself toa pesky barmaid, serving lecherous men that only appreciated her for her beauty. Despite trying to convince himself that he could feel only disdain for the weak, he was never able to present the rude front that came as a second nature when dealing with members of the guild.

_"-…please."_

Unbeknownst to the rest of the guild, Laxus soon found himself attempting to revive the defeated Demon. His vehement self-denial of his intentions and actions proved fruitless when it came to the barmaid's bright smile, and he would unconsciously treat her with more respect and kindness than he had ever bothered with anyone else.

_"Here. Kuzumochi. You like it, don't you?"_

He tried showering her with subtle gifts, both tangible and not, from a passing compliment to her favourite food to silently protecting her from the sleazy patrons of the guild bar.

_"Hey Mirajane, what are you doing after work- Actually, never mind I asked!" _

Mirajane would blink at every lost customer, her gaze landing on the terrifying presence that seemed to linger nearby whenever one or more of the patrons attempted to hit on her. He'd lean against the bar with his arms crossed, electricity dancing around him and his glare enough to electrocute those lechers to a crisp. She'd give him her signature eye-smile, preparing his usual drink before she moved on to another customer.

_"Thank you, Laxus! You're always here to save me."  
><em>_"…It's nothing."_

Laxus had grown, and his hands were bigger now. He should have been able to glue those broken pieces back together, but he couldn't understand how it was possible that the amount of healing he provided wasn't forcing her back to feisty self. A simple attempt to repair the soothing presence in the guild, to revert the girl back into a worthy opponent, soon escalated into something more.

_Fixing Mira is just a challenge for me. I'll succeed and she'll be yesterday's news-  
><em>_"Laxus! There you are, I've been looking for you! Could you help me get all these new deliveries into the guild please?"_

No matter what he did, or how nice he was to her, she never went back to her old personality. It was mind-boggling for Laxus, and he couldn't stop the spark of irritation and frustration that only seemed to increase whenever she was helpless to defend herself. And her idiot of her brother was even worse. He couldn't save her even if his life depended on it!

_"I don't get it."  
><em>_"Get what?"  
><em>_"I don't get _you_, Mira. You could've beaten Erza and became the best female mage, but you've given up everything ever since-"  
><em>_"Power doesn't equate to strength, Laxus. Even though I was an S-Class mage, I wasn't able to save her… And even I had all the power in world, I never will be able to…"_

It was futile, Laxus realised, to ever consider that Mira would revert back to her old self. She had become frail, like the rest of the guild, filled to the brim with the disgusting weakness they called comradeship.

_Power doesn't equate to strength? Bullshit._

He had grown tired of her preaching, and ignored the twinge deep down inside when he permanently migrated to the second floor of the guild and isolated himself from the rest. He would look down at the miscellaneous members of the guild, scoffing at their overwhelming positivity and joy despite the fact that they were _all_ _fucking weak_.

_"Laxus! Fight me!"_

The worst of them all were the young brats, brash and dumb, picking fights that they could not dream to win. And when she called him with her usual cheerful expression twisted into one of worry and pain to _please help us Laxus, Phantom- _he steeled himself and rejected her, just like how she had pushed away his _love-_ attempts to help and flocked towards the disgusting plague of weakness.

_"Ha! Fairy Tail? That shitty guild can't even hurt a fly!"_

He liked hearing the passing stories about Fairy Tail mages destroying property all around – liked that even that supposedly peace-loving guild brought demolition in their wake; but he couldn't help the temper that flared when his insignia had become a joke.

_"This ends _NOW!"

Bright, golden electricity flashing with anticipation to revolutionise the guild, he forced a battle royal, a survival of the fittest. He knew she'd hear him as he spoke, knew that she'd find the yellow light familiar even while trapped in stone. The statues of the other girls meant nothing to him, and regardless of his pretense he could only stare at her frozen figure, wondering if he was the only one that saw the cracks in the stone. However, when he shook his head it was gone, and he once again roared with anger and selfish desire.

_"The guild… is our _home_!"_

But he didn't foresee his downfall, brought about by his arrogance and the fact that deep down inside, he had never seen these people as foe. And when he fell and silky platinum hair flashed in his subconsciousness with a smile that pulled him out of the shadows, he realised that he had been wrong all along.

_"Laxus…"_

After the verdict had been passed and he too, was excommunicated, he avoided interaction, not daring to face her when she called his name, busying himself with packing up and leaving in shame. She took a few steps and a placed a hand on his shoulder, the warmth radiating from her small form tainted by his darkness.

_"...I, uh… I heard you activated Satan Soul."_

He had finally achieved what he failed to do in his teens, pushed the demonic power out of the young mage's body and forced her to fight. But he was way past his teenage years and he now realised that she would only fight if her comrades were threatened. He now realised that she was never weak, that she was always the headstrong Mirajane that he had wanted to get to know.

_"I'm sure we'll meet again, Laxus. After all, I owe you for saving me so many times before."_

Laxus' eyes widened and his movements halted, a sudden fleeting image of Mirajane causing his pause. There she stood entrapped in stone, with the same cracks he thought he'd imagined on her form. A small smile made its way to his lips, letting out a small scoff as he finally understood_._

_"…Thank you, Mira."_

There she stood entrapped in stone, but this time around, the cracks were laced with a familiar gold.

**_kintsukuroi_**_ (n)."to repair with gold"; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that _the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.


End file.
